The past several weeks I have produced larger work for indoors or outdoors. This bench is titled: AGAVE BENCH WITH FLOWER STALKS Handmade tile on a concrete bench 38″ long by 14″ wide by 15″ high with a 3 ” thick top reinforced with rebar Currently at Harlow Gardens, Tucson, AZ I will be at the Moonlight Art Market at Harlow Gardens this Saturday, April 22 from 6:00 to 8:30. This invitational event will have several other artists, live music and refreshments Come join the fun. Click any photo to enlarge. QUAIL TREE OF LIFE MOSAIC Handmade tile placed in…
Author: robinchladdesigns
I have been doodling, coloring, drawing, cutting, sculpting, painting, sewing, writing and everything in between since I could hold a crayon in my hand.
My first art projects were filling up a big, fat coloring book of bridal dresses. I boldly ventured into new territory with paint-by-number sets. I graduated to luxurious and decadent velvet (paint-by-number) sets. Eventually, I mastered the art of Spirogragh.
Originally from upstate New York I have lived in Tucson, Arizona since 1986. Back then I was a single mom and found myself in the job market. I went to Pima Community College for training. Instead of diving into my academics I kept hanging around the pottery studio. Some people lived there and if I didn’t have two little girls at home I would have ended up living there as well. Joking aside, I fell in love with clay and all its possibilities. Being in a position to care for my kids, in 1989 I created a very marketable, creative, and functional item. It was a simple concept that took me into new heights of the craft world and I became an entrepreneur. Creating and selling became my passion. I had achieved success for many years. I loved being my own boss and living the artist’s dream. Life moved real fast and before I knew it my girls were all grown up, moving out, getting married and having kids of there own. Hey, wait a minute… I am a Gramma at 40? No sweat, I handled it gracefully.
Fast forward to the present: I have been on a journey led by God.
I took a sabbatical for the last 6 years learning new people skills in real estate, retail and care giving to the elderly. But my natural instincts kept leading me back to what my soul cannot deny. New visions, new risks, and a stronger faith has lead me to this point. Have I arrived? It’s like my life is all mapped out and a red arrow points to You Are Here! But the road keeps going and I have learned to listen to that still small voice. My days are filled with a little bit of art, a little bit of caring for my grandchildren, care giving to the elderly and volunteering at Sunday school.
I am currently working on sculpting with clay in a tile mosaic setting, like my Seed Pod series or House of Fruit Trios. Some of my pieces are a mixture of individual 3-D tiles, shadow box shrines, and ornaments. The work that’s being created is inspirational, whimsical, and contemporary. Even though life can be very serious and intense I hope to achieve simply bringing joy or even a smile to someone’s face though my creations.
I am also designing and developing my%2
Tile Garden Bench, Welcome and Install
Tiled garden bench awaits you.
The Gathering Season
The gathering season is upon us. What better way to usher the fall season in by attending the Patagonia Fall Festival this weekend. October 7-9. That’s right. The beautiful and quaint western town of Patagonia is practically right in our back yards…only 1 hour away, One of my favorite places to visit and I will be participating in the Art show in the park. There will be music and food and amazing art! So hunt for those unique art pieces and gather your gifts for the up coming season. http://patagoniafallfestival.com I hope you can make it. More Tucson shows coming…
Mosaic Mural; Corrales, New Mexico Style
A finished mosaic back splash is a perfect touch to a custom home, Corrales, New Mexico style. Incorporating handmade tiles of barrel cactus, flowering Yucca, flowering agave, and flowering aloe, along with a Jack Rabbit, butterflies, purple cactus, a family of quail,gecko, hummingbirds, and the sun peaking through the clouds. The project took two days to install. The owners were so gracious to me as well as their 6 well behaved cats. Since I never got around to Go Pro-ing the installation, here are some still shots of the process. My travels…
My New Mexico Trip
My trip to Corrales, New Mexico is fast approaching. I have been hired to install a tile mural in a residence. The tile is pretty much completed…fired and laid out. Even though it’s a fairly small size mural, only 48″ x 24″ tall, the challenge is getting it to fit in an intermittent concave niche, sight unseen. That means allowing for slight design changes. I am positive it will all work out beautifully. This is the basic tile layout with an aloe garden and hummers, flowering fence post cactus and blooming yuccas and blackbirds. This is all handmade tile, glazed…
Pre Mothers Day Open Studio Sale
Robin Chlad Designs Hi Folks, I am holding a end of season Open Studio Sale. April 23 from 9-1. This is a private sale so you will have to contact me and I can give you directions to my studio. robin.chlad@gmail.com Or 5208828099 . txt me. I will also be collecting art supplies or money for the Gospel Rescue Mission Women and Children’s Center. I volunteer/teach art classes once a month and we are always needing supplies. The ladies really appreciate anything you can do. You may remember last year we made Card books for Mother’s day. It…
Arroyo Garden Murals
Last week was the completion of the tiled murals I was hired to make and install. This is my first commercial job and it actually went pretty smoothly. No different than installing for homes. Well… maybe a little different. It’s a mans world in a construction zone. Being one of the 3 women…everyone was very respectful and helpful. As promised, I told you I would post pics of the project. I didn’t have a Go-Pro. I wish I could’ve had one but maybe the next project, which is coming up this summer. I decided to have professional pictures done of…
Lead by the Spirit
Many things inspire me, all day long. Here are a few Shadow Box sculptures that were inspired by gardening, bird watching and nature with a bit of whimsy. Hummer with Wild Flower Ceramic Shadow Box
A Month of Hearts
Ahhhh, February 14. A day for love. A day for sweetness. A day for affection. Are you at a loss of what to get for your lovely love? I have some ideas. I love hearts. I make them all year long. Hearts with wings, flaming hearts, hearts with leaping rabbits, hearts with birds, hearts with pockets for cats to hide in, American Flag hearts… So many to choose from: These are available at my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RobinChladDesigns?section_id=6939494&ref=shopsection_leftnav_4 As I announced in my blog back in January, I am enamored with Essential Oils and not just any essential oils. I…
New Work in the Old Pueblo
So it’s February. January flew by. I feel I was only present for half of January because what ever was going around…..you name it, I caught it! I am glad to see January ’16 leave. And good riddance. Meanwhile, I have been busy with new designs for an up coming tile mosaic job I have been hired to create. It’s always exciting to have a new challenge, a reprieve from the daily bread and butter. I will give you a sneak preview…..based on the mural I designed and created for a Rocky Point, Mexico sea side residence over the summer/ 2015. I…
Robin Chlad Designs 